Alaska goaltender heads east

WASILLA — It’s Nathan Corey’s dream to play hockey and attend a school in the Ivy League. To help see that dream become a reality, Corey is heading east to play for the New England Junior Huskies of the Eastern Junior Hockey League.

“I’d like to go to a school on the East Coast,” Corey, the now former Alaska Avalanche goaltender, said earlier this week. “Playing in their back yard gives me much better visibility than playing here.”

Corey, a former South Anchorage High School standout who backstopped the Wolverines during a run of three straight ASAA 4A state hockey titles, played one season with the Avalanche, the Wasilla-based North American Hockey League franchise.

Corey appeared in 29 games for the Avs, recording a 4-18-2 mark, 4.59 goals against average and .887 saves percentage.

Corey said his decision to leave the Avalanche and the state of Alaska has nothing to do with the local junior hockey franchise.

“There are no hard feelings between me and the Avs,” Corey said. “I couldn’t have asked for more for my first year of junior hockey.”

Corey said by moving on, he is simply following his dreams.

“I’ve wanted to live on the East Coast ever since I visited. This is my opportunity to do that,” Corey said. “This is also my last year of (junior hockey) eligibility, so I might as well try something.”

Alaska president and general manager Jamie Smith, who coached Corey last season, said he also sees this as a good opportunity for Corey.

“His primary goal is to get his education and move on in life. And if he gets to play hockey (in college), that’s a plus,” Smith said. “This is the best situation for Nathan Corey. And that’s the key.”

Like Corey, Smith said the EJHL is a league that presents players with an excellent chance to move onto the Ivy League.

“All of those (Ivy League) schools recruit out of that league,” Smith said.

Smith said he feels if Corey has a solid year in the EJHL, he could step in and play right away for an Ivy League program.

Both Smtih and Corey called the 2007-08 campaign an adjustment year for Corey, a goaltender that saw his alma mater retire his jersey following a historic prep career.

“I learned a lot about myself as a person, a lot about myself as a player,” Corey said.

The biggest transition for Corey, Smith said, was going from a South High program that would allow only about 15 shots per game to an Avalanche team that would regularly see the goaltender peppered with shots.

“He probably saw more shots last year than he did in four years (at South),” Smith said.

Corey faced an average of 34 shots per game last season. Alaska’s other goaltender, the UAA-bound Dusan Sidor, led the NAHL by facing 39 shots per contest.

Corey was also among league leaders in saves per game, with 30, and saw 40 for more shots 11 times.

He posted a career-high 55 saves during a 2-1 overtime loss to Fairbanks on March 14.

“It was good for him to be on the ice every day, good for him to develop,” Smith said. “For him, he needed that year of development.”

New England finished fifth in the EJHL Northern Division with a 14-26-3 record. Corey said he is expected to be one of two goalies on the Husky squad.

“They’re bringing up an ‘89 from their junior B squad, and I’ll be the other,” Corey said, referring to the player born in 1989. “It’s the idea for me to come in and start as the older goalie. Obviously I have to perform.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.